Bowling ball carrier

ABSTRACT

A bowling ball carrier, carrying a plurality of bowling balls at the same time and allowing a user to receive or take bowling balls into or out of bowling ball bags and being selectively used as a travelling carrier, is disclosed. The bowling ball carrier has a telescopic handle frame and an integrated bag provided on the lower end of the handle frame by attaching the bottom part of the integrated bag to the lower end of the handle frame. A support block is placed in the bottom part of the bag. Both side walls of the support block are rounded inwardly at the same radius of gyration as a bowling ball thus forming bow side surfaces. An upper bag holder frame is attached to the handle frame at a position above the integrated bag and is supported by the support block.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to a bowling ball carrierand, more particularly, to a bowling ball carrier having at least onebowling ball bag and easily carrying a plurality of bowling balls andbeing selectively used as a travelling carrier.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Typically, most bowlers individually use several bowling balls withdifferent colors, weights and finger holes in accordance with one'sliking or in an effort to train systematically or to enjoy oneself bybowling positively. In this regard, it is necessary for some bowlers tocarry a plurality of bowling balls at the same time.

In order to carry a plurality of bowling balls in the prior art, two ormore bags receiving the bowling balls are loaded on a conventionalwheeled carrier prior to fastening the bags together with the carrierinto a wheeled package by a fastening means such as a cord. However,such a carrier is inconvenient to users since the bags on the carrierhave to be unfastened prior to unloading the uppermost bag from thecarrier when it is necessary to take a bail out of a lower bag of theabove fastened bags. When the bowling ball bags are carried as describedabove, the bags may be easily deformed and damaged due to the weight ofthe upper bags so that the owner is forced to purchase new ones.Meanwhile, the conventional carrier may be used for carrying travellingbags such as trunks or suitcases. In this case, a main travelling bag isseated on the bottom holder of the carrier, while an auxiliary bag isheld on the top of the main bag prior to fastening the bags togetherwith the carrier by a fastening means such as a cord. Therefore, boththe main and auxiliary bags may be deformed and allow unexpected damageto their contents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide a bowling ball carrier, which effectively andstably holds two or more bags without deforming the bags or damaging thecontents of the bags and allows a user to easily and simply receive ortake bowling balls into or out of the bags, and which is selectively andpreferably used as a travelling carrier free from causing deformation oftravelling bags or damage of the contents of the bags.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention providesa bowling ball carrier comprising: a handle frame having a telescopicstructure; an integrated bag provided on the lower end of the handleframe by attaching the bottom part of the bag to the lower end of thehandle frame; a support block placed in the bottom part of the bag; andan upper bag holder frame used for holding an additional bag thereon,the upper bag holder frame being attached to the handle frame at aposition above the integrated bag and supported by the support block.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view ox a bowling ball carrier, with anintegrated bag lying on its side thus allowing a user to receive or takebowling balls into or out of the bags from the front, in accordance withthe primary embodiment of the present invent on;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the bowling ball carrier of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a bowling ball carrier, with anintegrated bag standing on its bottom thus allowing a user to receive ortake bowling balls into or out of the bags from the top, in accordancewith another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a bowling ball carrier, providedwith two ball cups in addition to the construction of the carrier ofFIG. 3, in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the framework of the bowling ballcarrier, suitable for receiving or taking bowling balls into or out ofthe bags from the top, according to this invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the bowling ball carrier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the bowling ball carrier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the construction of the bottom partof the integrated bag of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 8, but showing the bottom part ofthe integrated bag with ball cups;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the bottom part of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the construction of an upper bagholder frame attached to the carrier of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are perspective views of an upper bag holder frameattached to the carrier of FIG. 1, in which:

FIG. 12A shows a coupling member used for coupling the holder frame tothe handle frame; and

FIG. 12B shows the holder frame assembled with the coupling member;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a bow supportblock of the bowling ball carrier according to this invention;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the bow support block of FIG. 13, showingboth smoothly-rounded sides of the support block; and

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a bowling ball carrier with an upperbag holder frame in accordance with yet another embodiment of thisinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 5 show a bowling ball carrier, having a construction capableof holding two or more bags, in accordance with the invention.

As shown in the drawings, the bowling ball carrier of this inventionregardless of the embodiments has a telescopic handle frame 2, which iscoupled to the wheeled bottom part 11 of a bowling ball bag 1 at thelower end. An upper bag holder frame 22 is attached to the handle frame2 at a position above the bag 1 and holds another bag 1 thereon. Thecarrier thus effectively holds two or more bowling ball bags 1 at thesame time.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the bottom part 11 of the integrated bag 1 hasa plurality of, preferably, two pipe sockets 110 on the outside wall.The pipe sockets 110 may be coupled to the lower ends of twolongitudinal pipes of the handle frame 2 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.Alternatively, the pipe sockets 110 may be coupled to two pipes of abottom holder frame 112, which has a telescopic part 112a at the frontend, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, the bottom part 11 of theintegrated bag 1 may be selectively positioned on the carrier in one oftwo positions: a lying position where the opening 101 of the bottom part11 is directed to the front as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a standingposition where the opening 101 is directed to the top as shown in FIGS.3 and 4.

The above bottom part 11, which has the pipe sockets 110 on the outsidewall, also has a fitting means on the outside bottom. When theintegrated bag 1 is positioned on the carrier with the opening 101 ofthe bottom part 11 being directed to the front as shown in FIGS. 1 and2, the two longitudinal pipes of the handle frame 2 engage with thefitting means of the bottom part 11. In this case, the side wall of thebottom part 11, having the pipe sockets 110, is directed downward sothat the bottom holder frame 112, having the telescopic part 112a at thefront end, can be fitted into the pipe sockets 110 and effectively holdsthe integrated bag 1 thereon. A bow support block 3 is held on thebottom part 11 inside the integrated bag 1. The upper bag holder frame22, having a telescopic structure, is coupled to the handle frame 2through two coupling pipes 21 at a position above the integrated bag 1and holds an upper bag 1 thereon.

Meanwhile, when the integrated bag 1 is positioned on the carrier withthe opening 101 of the bottom part 11 being directed to the top as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4, the two longitudinal pipes of the handle frame 2 arefitted into the pipe sockets 110 of the bottom part 11 at the lowerends. The bow support block 3 is held on the center of the bottom part11 inside the opening 101. In this embodiment, the upper bag holderframe 22 is hinged to the handle frame 2 at a position above theintegrated bag 1 and holds an upper bag 1 thereon. That is, the upperbag holder frame 22 is hinged to a fixed support beam 21', which isattached to the handle frame 2, through a hinged joint 202 so that theframe 22 is rotatable around the hinged joint 202. In this case, thelowermost position of the hinged frame 22 is not lower than thehorizontal position since the inside end of the frame 22 is stopped bythe flat top surface of the support beam 21' when the frame 22 isrotated into the lowermost position. The outside end of the upper bagholder frame 22 has a support wall 221, thus stably holding the upperbag 1 on the frame 22 and preventing the bag 1 from being unexpectedlyseparated from the frame 22. As best seen in FIGS. 13 and 14, each sidewall 301 of the support block 3 is rounded inwardly at the same radiusof gyration as a bowling ball 4 so that the support block 3 is smoothlyconstricted in the middle and thereby is called by the term "bow supportblock". In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the bow support block 3 ispositioned on the bottom part 11 of the integrated bag 1, with the bowside walls 301 of the support block 3 extending horizontally. Meanwhile,in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the support block 3 is positioned onthe bottom part 11 in a way such that the bow side walls 301 extendvertically.

The upper bag holder frame 22 of the invention is attached to thetelescopic handle frame 2 at a position above the integrated bag 1 andholds the upper bag 1 thereon. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, theupper bag holder frame 22 is attached to the handle frame 2 through thetwo T-shaped coupling pipes 21, which are fitted over the two telescopiclongitudinal pipes of the handle frame 2. The construction of the aboveframe 22 is best seen in FIGS. 12A and 12B. Each of the T-shapedcoupling pipes 21 has a fixture 201 on the outside wall and is fixed tothe bottom part 11 of the integrated bag 1 through the fixture 201. Theupper bag holder frame 22, having a telescopic structure, is coupled tothe coupling pipes 21 by fitting two longitudinal main pipes of theframe 22 into the coupling pipes 21. An inside support wall 220integrally extends between the two coupling pipes 21, while an outsidesupport wall 220 extends between the outside ends of the two main pipesof the frame 22. The two support walls 220 of the upper bag holder frame22 hold the upper bag 1 on the frame 22 and prevent the bag 1 from beingunexpectedly separated from the frame 22.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper bag holder frame 22 ishinged to the fixed support beam 21', which is mounted to the telescopichandle frame 2, through the hinged joint 202 so that the frame 22 isrotatable around the hinged joint 202 with the lowermost position of theframe 22 being not lower than the horizontal position. The constructionof the above frame 22 is best seen in FIG. 11. The hinged joint 202comprises a plurality of fixed and movable bosses 202a and 202b whichare hinged together using a hinge pin. The fixed bosses 202a are formedon the support beam 21', while the movable bosses 202b are formed on theinside end of the frame 22. In the same manner as described for theembodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, an outside support wall 220 extends betweenthe outside ends of the two main pipes of the frame 22 and has the samefunction as described above.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7, the integrated bag 1 iscoupled to the handle frame 2, with the opening 101 of the bottom part11 of the bag 1 being directed to the front. In this case, the bowsupport block 3 is positioned on the bottom part 11, with the bow sidewalls 301 extending horizontally. The bottom holder frame 112 of thisembodiment is provided with two ground stands 113 on the bottom and istightly inserted into the two pipe sockets 110 of the bottom part 11 sothat the frame 112 stably holds the integrated bag 1 thereon. Meanwhile,in the embodiment of FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, the integrated bag 1 is coupledto the handle frame 2, with both the opening 101 of the bottom part 11being directed to the top and the lower ends of the two main pipes ofthe handle frame 2 being inserted into the two pipe sockets 110 of thebottom part 11. In this case, the bow support block 3 is positioned onthe bottom part 11, with the bow side walls 301 extending vertically.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a plurality of, preferably, two ball cups102 may be provided on the inside bottom of the bottom part 11 of FIG. 8for holding the bowling balls 4.

FIG. 5 shows a bowling ball carrier according to a further embodiment ofthis invention. In this embodiment, the bowling ball carrier is formedby attaching the upper bag holder frame 22 to the two longitudinal pipesof the handle frame 2 of a conventional wheeled carrier having anintegrated holder frame on the bottom. In addition, the bottom part 11of an integrated bag is installed on the integrated holder frame of thecarrier by fitting a hook 103 onto the inside support wall 2a, which isprovided on the inside end of the integrated holder frame. The hook 103is provided on the rear outside wall of the bottom part 11.

FIG. 15 shows a bowling ball carrier in accordance with yet anotherembodiment of this invention. In this embodiment, the integrated bag 1is positioned on the carrier with the opening 101 of the bottom part 11being directed to the top. However, this embodiment alters theconstruction of both the bottom part 11 and the upper bag holder frame22 as follows. That is, the bottom part 11 has a plurality of,preferably, two column holders, which are formed on the front outsidewall of the part 11 and hold two support columns 5 and 5'. The top endsof the support columns 5 and 5' are connected together by a connectionbeam 6 and individually have a boss 501. The outside ends 224 of twolongitudinal pipes of the upper bag holder frame 22 are hinged to thebosses 501 of the columns 5 and 5' so that the frame 22 may be rotatablearound the bosses 501 of the columns 5 and 5'. The upper bag holderframe 22 also has an outside support wall 221, which is formed on theconnection beam 6. An inside connection beam 222 extends between theinside ends of the two pipes of the frame 22 and has a slot 223 on thetop center. Placed on the slot 223 of the inside connection beam 222 isa lock member 7. A support beam 21' is attached to the handle frame 2and has a support wall 8 on the top surface. The support wall 8 is cutat the center into two parts. The lock member 7 of the inside connectionbeam 222 selectively engages with the cut center of the support wail 8,thus holding the upper bag holder frame 22 in the horizontal position.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 11a denotes a wheel which isprovided on each bottom corner of the bottom part 11 of the integratedbag 1.

As described above, the bowling ball carrier of this invention holds anintegrated bag 1 on the bottom portion. The carrier also holds anotherbag 1 at a position above the integrated bag 1 so that the carrier caneasily and effectively carry a plurality of bowling balls 4 at the sametime. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the integrated bag 1 may be coupled tothe handle frame 2, with the opening 101 of the bottom part 11 of thebag 1 being directed to the front. In this case, the bow support block 3is positioned on the bottom part 11, with the bow side walls 301 of theblock 3 extending horizontally. In addition, the upper bag holder frame22 is coupled to the handle frame 2 through the two coupling pipes 21 ata position above the integrated bag 1.

Meanwhile, the integrated bag 1 may be coupled to the handle frame 2,with the opening 101 of the bottom part 11 of the bag 1 being directedto the top as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this case, the bow supportblock 3 is positioned on the bottom part 11, with the bow side walls 301extending vertically. The upper bag holder frame 22 is coupled to thehandle frame 2 at a position above the integrated bag 1 in a way suchthat the upper bag holder frame 22 is rotatable. In order to make theupper bag holder frame 22 rotatable, the frame 22 may be hinged to thefixed support beam 21', which is attached to the handle frame 2, throughthe hinged joint 202 comprising a plurality of fixed and movable bosses202a and 202b as shown in FIG. 11. Alternatively, the upper bag holderframe 22 may be hinged to the bosses 501 of the support columns 5 and 5'so that the frame 22 may be rotatable around the bosses 501 of thecolumns 5 and 5' as shown in FIG. 15. Therefore, the carrier with such ahinged upper bag holder frame 22 according to this invention allows auser to easily receive or take bowling balls 4 into or out of theintegrated bag 1 and holds another bag 1 on the upper bag holder frame22 thus easily carrying two or more bowling balls 4 at the same time.

In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the upper bag holder frame 22 also has thelock member 7 on the slot 223 of the inside connection beam 222 so thatthe lock member 7 selectively engages with the inside support wall 8 ofthe support beam 21' thus stably holding the upper bag holder frame 22in the horizontal position. Therefore, the carrier of FIG. 15effectively holds another bag 1 on the upper bag holder frame 22.

When the integrated bag 1 is positioned on the carrier as shown in FIGS.3 and 4, the two longitudinal pipes of the handle frame 2 are fittedinto the pipe sockets 110 of the bottom part 11 of the bag 1 at thelower ends. Meanwhile, when the integrated bag 1 is positioned as shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, the two longitudinal pipes of the handle frame 2engage with the fitting means of the bottom part 11. In this case, thebottom holder frame 112 is fitted into the pipe sockets 110 of thebottom part 11 of the integrated bag 1. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and2, the telescopic part 112a of the bottom holder frame 112 may extendforward to hold bowling equipment.

Both side walls 301 of the bow support block 3, which is arranged insidethe bottom part 11 of the bag 1, are rounded inwardly at the same radiusof gyration as a bowling ball 4. When such a support block 3 is arrangedinside the bottom part 11 of the integrated bag 1, the support block 3effectively isolates the bowling balls 4 from each other and preventsthe balls 4 from frictional contact with each other. It is thus possibleto prevent unexpected scratching or damage of the balls 4 while carryingthem. The support block 3 also effectively supports the upper bag 3,filled with heavy bowling balls 4, in cooperation with the upper bagholder frame 22 thus preventing the bottom holder frame 112 from saggingdue to the weight of the upper bag 1.

When the integrated bag 1 is positioned on the carrier with the opening101 of the bottom part 11 of the bag 1 being directed to the front, theupper bag holder frame 22 of FIGS. 12A and 12B is attached to the handleframe 2 at a position above the integrated bag 1. In this case, theinside and outside support walls 220, which are provided on the upperbag holder frame 22, effectively hold the upper bag 1 so that a bag iseffectively prevented from unexpected separation from the upper bagholder frame 22.

In the carrier of this invention, the handle frame 2 has a telescopicstructure, which comprises two main pipes and two telescopic pipes. Thetelescopic pipes of the handle frame 2 are coupled to the main pipes 23with a telescopic control member 24 being installed in the junctionbetween the main and telescopic pipes.

In the present invention, the bottom part 11 of an integrated bag 1 maybe free from the bow support block 3 inside the opening 101. The carrierwith the integrated bag 1 free from the support block 3 may bepreferably used as a travelling carrier with the integrated bag 1. Whenthe carrier of this invention is used as a travelling carrier, anotherbag may be held on the upper bag holder frame 22 without deforming theintegrated bag 1 or damaging the contents of the bags.

As described above, the present invention provides a bowling ballcarrier, which effectively and stably holds two or more bowling ballbags without deforming the bags or damaging the contents of the bags andallows a user to easily and simply receive or take bowling balls into orout of the bags thus being convenient to users. The bowling ball bagattached to the carrier of this invention has a strong and simpleconstruction and is provided with a bow support block for isolating thebowling balls from each other so that the bag does not cause deformationor damage of the balls. When the bow support block is removed from thebag of the carrier according to this invention, the carrier can bepreferably used as a travelling carrier.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bowling ball carrier comprising:a handle framehaving a telescopic structure; an integrated bag provided on the lowerend of said handle frame by attaching the bottom part of said bag to thelower end of the handle frame; a support block placed in said bottompart of the bag; and an upper bag holder frame used for holding anadditional bag thereon, said upper bag holder frame being attached tosaid handle frame at a position above the integrated bag and supportedby said support block.
 2. The bowling ball carrier according to claim 1,wherein said bottom part of the integrated bag includes a wheel on eachbottom corner, side socket means on the outside wall and bottom socketmeans on the outside bottom.
 3. The bowling ball carrier according toclaim 2, wherein said bottom part of the integrated bag stands on itsbottom, with said side socket means being coupled to the lower end ofthe handle frame.
 4. The bowling ball carrier according to claim 2,wherein said bottom part of the integrated bag lies on its side, withboth said bottom socket means being coupled to the lower end of thehandle frame and said side socket means being coupled to a bottom holderframe used for holding the integrated bag lying on its side.
 5. Thebowling ball carrier according to claim 1, wherein said upper bag holderframe is hinged to a fixed support beam attached to said handle framethus being rotatably held on the handle frame.
 6. The bowling ballcarrier according to claim 1, wherein said upper bag holder frame isattached to the handle frame through a T-shaped coupling pipe, saidcoupling pipe having a fixture on the outside wall and being fixed tothe bottom part of the integrated bag through said fixture.
 7. Thebowling ball carrier according to claim 1, wherein said upper bag holderframe has a support wall on the outside end, said support wall holdingthe additional bag on the upper bag holder frame.
 8. The bowling ballcarrier according to claim 1, wherein both side walls of said supportblock are rounded inwardly at the same radius of gyration as a bowlingball thus forming bow side surfaces.
 9. The bowling ball carrieraccording to claim 8, wherein said support block is positioned insidethe bottom part of the integrated bag, with the bow side surfacesextending horizontally in the event of the integrated bag lying on itsside or extending vertically in the event of the integrated bag standingon its bottom.
 10. The bowling ball carrier according to claim 1,wherein said bottom part of the integrated bag has a hook on the rearoutside wall and is attached to said handle frame by fitting said hookonto a support wall provided on the lower end of the handle frame. 11.The bowling ball carrier according to claim 4, wherein said bottomholder frame has a telescopic structure.
 12. The bowling ball carrieraccording to claim 1, wherein said handle frame is made of a pipe havinga rectangular cross-section.
 13. The bowling ball carrier according toclaim 1, further comprises:two vertical support columns held on theoutside wall of said bottom part of the integrated bag at a positionopposite to the handle frame, the top ends of said support columns beingconnected together by an outside connection beam and individually havinga boss, said boss being hinged to the outside end of said upper bagholder frame thus rotatably holding the upper bag holder frame on thesupport columns; an outside support wall formed on said outsideconnection beam and adapted for holding the additional bag on the upperbag holder frame; an inside connection beam provided on the inside endof the upper bag holder frame and having a slot on the top center; asupport beam attached to said handle frame and having a support wall onthe top surface, said support wall being cut at the center into twoparts; and a lock member provided on said slot of the inside connectionbeam, said lock member selectively engaging with the center of saidsupport wall of the support beam thus holding the upper bag holder framein a horizontal position.